


Pretty Follies

by ArtemisRayne



Series: May Look at a King - A Newsies Felisian AU [30]
Category: Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Felisians, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Cat/Human Hybrids, Established Relationship, Felisian!Jack, Felisians, Fluff, Jack Is A Good Boyfriend, M/M, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Valentine's Day Fluff, soft bois
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-16
Updated: 2020-02-16
Packaged: 2021-02-28 03:35:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22747180
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArtemisRayne/pseuds/ArtemisRayne
Summary: Buzzing with anticipation, Jack only has one thought in mind as he drags Davey through the streets of New York toward the ancient building. It's been a trying few weeks, and Jack is going to make it right.
Relationships: David Jacobs/Jack Kelly
Series: May Look at a King - A Newsies Felisian AU [30]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1070205
Comments: 6
Kudos: 69





	Pretty Follies

**Author's Note:**

> I know I'm a day late for the holiday, but at least I'm close!
> 
> Things have been far too dark in this series lately, it was about time for some fluff. Jack is the best boyfriend, and he just wants his string bean to be happy.

Anticipation buzzes under his skin like an electric current, and Jack can't help the way his tail jitters spastically behind him as they walk. Davey casts yet another bemused look at him, a tiny furrow of concern above his nose. "Are you sure you're okay, Jacky?" his boyfriend asks uncertainly. "You're - _twitchy_." 

"'Cause it's cold," Jack replies teasingly. "Shivering. Gotta keep moving to stay warm." 

Davey snorts. "You're lying." 

There's no anger or annoyance under the accusation, so the felisian just grins playfully. "No, I'm evading. That's diff'rent." When Davey rolls his eyes, Jack laughs and leans over to sneak a kiss. "Hey, c'mon, just trust me." 

"If I didn't, I wouldn't be letting you drag me around the city in the cold," Davey responds, eyes sparkling brightly. Jack beams and flicks his tail again, this time from pleasure. "But whatever you're planning better be indoors because the sun's going down soon, and then it's gonna be way too cold for even your charms." 

Jack chuckles. "Don't worry, I gotcha. Almost there, just up here." A block-and-a-half later, they reach the historic building, and Jack grins as he leads Davey down the narrow alley beside it. 

"Jack, what-" The felisian fishes his keys out of his pocket and, after a bit of fumbling, finds the right one. When he slips the key into the lock on the side door of the building, Davey's eyes widen. He glances up at the building, and Jack can see when he puts the pieces together. "Is this-?"

"Ma's theatre," Jack finishes for him with a nod. "First one, anyway. C'mon." Jack holds the crew door open for Davey and locks it behind them. The lights are off, but that's not a problem for Jack as he picks his way around the stray bits of set pieces and props. Hastily tapping in the code for the alarm, Jack takes Davey's hand. "C'mere, I got a surprise." 

"I can't see anything," Davey protests, his steps tentative as Jack leads him through the maze of curtains and pulleys.

"Hey, thought ya trusted me," the felisian counters with a laugh. "I ain't gonna let you walk into anything, promise." Davey sighs resignedly, but he walks a little more confidently as Jack leads him out onto the stage. "'Kay, wait here a sec. I'mma grab the lights." 

Davey huffs. "Oh, _now_ you're gonna turn the lights on?" he asks sarcastically. 

Chuckling, Jack crosses back over to the wall. "Well, gives ya the full effect better this way," he responds and then flips all the switches up at once. The theatre is suddenly flooded with light, from the stage all the way up to the boxes. There's no missing Davey's surprised gasp, and Jack grins. "See, toldja."

"It's beautiful," Davey says, glancing over to Jack with wide eyes. "I mean, I haven't been in a lot of theatres before, but are they all this pretty?"

The felisian smirks, looking around the place in satisfaction as he walks over to join Davey on the stage. It's a masterpiece of Victorian architecture, all of the modern-day stylings carefully masked to still give the place a majestic, dated appearance. "Nah. Well, I mean, some of 'em probably. But Ma put a lotta work into this place. You know this building's over a hundred years old? It's one of those protected historic landmarks even." 

"Your mom bought a historic landmark to use as a theatre?" Davey asks, shocked. 

"Was already a theatre," the felisian says, shrugging. "Was ach'lly a burlesque house way back when, apparently, like back before the Depression and all. She just sorta - updated it." 

Davey laughs. "No, but I mean, this must've been so expensive. Not just buying a place like this, but then renovating it all. Is your mom secretly a billionaire?" 

The felisian snorts. "Nah, just a real good actress," he answers. "Started on Broadway when she was just a kid. 'Tween that and some movie roles and stuff, got paid pretty good. How ya think she gotta retire before forty and afford to adopt a bunch of furballs?" 

"I mean, I knew she was an actress and that she must've had money, but I just - wasn't expecting this," Davey admits. 

"I practically lived here for a couple years," Jack says fondly. "When Ma first took me in, ya know. She was still gettin' this place up and running, so we were here all the time. I put the 'cat' in 'catwalks,'" he jokes, pointing upward to the metal pathways that criss-cross above the stage. "Liked hidin' out up there and watching everything." 

Davey's eyes suddenly widen again. "Wait, so is this the place where you met your mom?" 

Jack laughs. "You mean the place I broke into and had Ma tryna swing a sword at me? Yeah, this is it. She'd just bought it, the place still looked abandoned. Ya know, all dusty and empty. I can show ya the old storage room I was camped in later, if you want. But what I really brought ya here for-" The felisian turns Davey around so he's facing the curtain across the stage. 

"Uh, it's a nice curtain?" Davey says sarcastically. 

"Shaddup," Jack teases. "Just hold on." Jogging over to the rows of pulleys, the felisian finds the right one and hauls back on the lever. The center stage curtain rises, the deep scarlet parting in a wide arc to reveal the backdrop behind, a sprawling canvas painted with a scene of a Venice canal street. Double-checking the rigging is secure, Jack heads back out toward his wide-eyed boyfriend. 

"You always say if you could visit anywhere, ya wanna see Venice," the felisian says, fighting to hide his nerves. 

Davey looks at him, stunned. "Did you paint this?"

Laughing, Jack ducks his head. "Nah, this is from the pros. The backdrop's from years ago, like third year this place was open. I helped touch it back up though 'cause they're doing _Merchant of Venice_ again and the paint was a bit faded." Jack flits an ear anxiously, looking up to meet Davey's eyes again. "I'mma take ya there for real someday when we can 'fford it, but 'til then, thought maybe this'd be okay? Ya know, can pretend a li'l bit-" 

The rest of his sentence disappears when Davey drags him in for a bruising kiss. Jack makes a surprised noise before melting into the contact with a satisfied hum. They're both breathless by the time they break apart, and Davey leans his forehead against Jack's. "You are the most ridiculously sweet person on the planet, you know that?" 

The felisian chuckles even as he feels a blush creeping up the back of his neck. "So ya like it? 'Cause I was thinkin' we'd make a date of it. Brought food and stuff," he shrugs, jostling the backpack still hanging off one shoulder, "thought we could have Valentine's dinner in our li'l fake Italy." 

"Valentine's?" Davey asks, bemused. "That's not 'til next week." 

"Well yeah, but we both gotta work it. This's the only night we both got off work before Valentine's, figured we could get a jump on it. Just 'cause we gotta work doesn't mean you don't deserve a nice Valentine's." 

"Jack, I-" Davey trails off and instead settles for kissing Jack again. "I love you so much." 

Grinning, the felisian purrs softly as he sneaks another kiss. "Love you too, Dave." Now that he knows Davey likes it, the nerves filter off and leave Jack just vibrating with excited energy. "C'mon. We gonna have to do it picnic style; director told me not to mess with the props 'cause they got 'em all in order for the show, and he doesn't wanna have to fix 'em before rehearsal tomorrow." 

"You took over the theatre when they've got a real play going on?" Davey asks. 

"Well, show doesn't open for two weeks," Jack says. He darts over to the edge of the stage and grabs the large blanket he'd stashed there, coming back to spread it on the floor. "But you gotta have stuff arranged all perfect for shows 'cause it's a lot of moving stuff on and off real fast in the right order. You mess up that order, scene changes fall apart and really slow the show down."

Davey sits down when Jack pats the blanket. "You really did spend a lot of time backstage, didn't you?" he asks in amusement. "You really know how all this stuff works." 

"Was Ma's way of keepin' me out of trouble when she first got me," the felisian says, laughing. He settles in at Davey's side and drags the backpack into his lap. "She was still gettin' this place running and had a new, mischievous kitten to keep track of. So she started sorta apprenticing me out to the stage crew. Learned a lot, and was kinda like free babysitting. Least 'til she brought in Spot and he was 'round to bully me into behavin'." 

Jack starts unpacking the bag, lifting out the heat-insulated lunch box, a package of paper plates and plastic silverware, and a small bottle of wine. Davey laughs. "You really planned this out," he notes, amused. 

"I never skimp on Valentine's Day," the felisian responds with a smirk. "'Specially for you. So we got homemade spaghetti - Ma's recipe - baked parmesan zucchini, and a bottle of the nicest wine we can afford on our budget." Davey chuckles appreciatively. "And for dessert, the old classic: chocolate strawberries." 

"Oh." Davey's smile flickers for the briefest second before he plasters it back on. "That's great, Jacky." 

The felisian only lasts a moment longer before he snorts a laugh. "Sorry, couldn't help it," Jack says, grinning playfully. "I know ya hate strawberries, babe, which is why I ach'lly brought this." He pries the lid off one of the Tupperware and holds it out. Eyes brightening, Davey leans in eagerly. "Caramel chocolate brownies. Not very Italian, but I know they're your favorite." 

Looking around, Davey's face softens into something warm and genuine. "Thank you, Jack. This is really, really sweet." 

Jack grins and ducks his head, ears folding back self-consciously. "Ya deserve it. Love you, Davey." He steals a hasty kiss and then reaches for the zipper on the insulated bag. "Now c'mon, let's eat this 'fore it gets cold." 

After divvying out the food onto the two plates and pouring wine into plastic cups, the pair of them stretch out on their stomachs side-by-side, propped up on their elbows. Jack immediately starts picking at his spaghetti with the fork, nudging all the pieces of mushroom to the edge of the plate.

Davey laughs when he notices. "Why'd you put mushrooms in it if you're just going to pick them out? You hate mushrooms." 

"But you love 'em," Jack answers and scoops the little pile of mushroom slices over onto Davey's plate. "See, works out perfect. I don't gotta eat 'em, and you get extra. S'why we're a good match." Grinning teasingly, he bumps his shoulder against Davey's and drops his tail to rest over his boyfriend's back. 

There's something adoring in Davey's eyes as he blends the extra mushrooms into his spaghetti. "Yeah, I guess it does work out great that way." 

Jack hums an agreement, mouthful of zucchini. After he swallows, he glances up at the stage backdrop. "So, why Venice?" he asks curiously. "Youse never said why you wanna visit so bad." 

"I'm not sure, honestly," Davey admits. "Curiosity, maybe? There's just something fascinating about it. An entire city built on top of the water, canals instead of streets, bridges for crosswalks. And the history of it is amazing. It was basically the cultural crossroads of the Renaissance." 

"That's the place they used to have all those fancy masquerade parties, right?" the felisian checks and Davey nods. "Huh, bet that was kinda fun. Can't be shy if you don't gotta worry about people judgin' you for it." 

Davey chuckles. "I probably still would be." 

"I wouldn't letcha," Jack responds with a grin. "I'd have you out dancing all night, show off to all them folks that I got the prettiest boy." Davey flushes and ducks his head on the pretense of taking a sip of wine. "Course, I guess it'd be harder for me bein' not recognized," the felisian adds. "I mean, there weren't felisians back then, but I bet the ears'd give me away." 

"That's fine, your ears are beautiful," Davey says. He prods at his food thoughtfully. "It's sad, thinking about the days back in the beginning when felisians had to hide their ears and tails." 

Jack noses at Davey's cheek, nuzzling him. "Well, ya know me, I ain't that good at bein' low-key anyway." 

The smile returns to Davey's face, eyes brightening. "Because you're a drama queen." 

"Can't keep this much fabulous contained," Jack agrees with a wink. 

Davey laughs warmly, leaning more against Jack's side. "This is delicious, by the way," he says, gesturing to his plate. "The zucchini is fantastic, where'd you learn to make it?" 

The felisian smirks playfully. "Pinterest." 

That sends Davey into a fit of giggles, and Jack fidgets his tail eagerly. This is what he wanted. He wanted to see Davey _happy_ again. 

It's been a rough year for Davey so far, his school schedule drowning him and his anxiety problems ballooning out of control. Davey is doing a little better now that he's cut his work hours in half so he has more time to study, but there's still a constant tension lingering below the surface. His first therapy session was last week, and it left Davey rattled, spending the rest of the day alternating between wanting to be left alone and refusing to leave Jack's side. There's still a prescription form on the kitchen table that Davey hasn't gotten the nerve to fill yet. 

But right now, eating a thrown-together dinner off disposable dishes in an empty theatre, Davey looks - he looks like the Davey that Jack fell in love with in the first place. The one that was fierce and argumentative, that was proud and defiant and determined, but that was also always beautifully, impossibly _genuine_. The one that never batted an eye at Jack's self-image issues or unusual past, who took it all in stride because he saw people for who they are, not who they used to be.

"Jack?" 

The felisian blinks out of his thoughts to find Davey watching him questioningly. "Oh, sorry," Jack apologizes immediately. "You say somethin'?" 

"You okay?" Davey asks. That little furrow between his eyebrows that always shows up when he's concerned is there, and Jack leans forward to kiss it away. 

"M'good, babe, promise," Jack says. "Was just thinkin'. We ain't been able to do somethin' like this in a while." 

"Break into historical landmarks and picnic on a Broadway stage?" Davey responds teasingly. 

The felisian snorts, rolling his eyes. "Be _us_ ," he explains. "Ya know, just us. Like, forget about school and work and family stuff. Just be you and me bein' together." 

"Like Netflix nights," Davey tacks on, his face warming with comprehension. 

"Exactly," Jack agrees. It was an early foundation in their relationship, weekly dinner dates as they took turns introducing each other to shows they thought the other would like. "I missed this. This school year's been so much fuckin' harder than last year. I never would'a got through all the, ya know, all that shit with my dad without you. Wish I could do stuff like this more often, show ya that more." 

Davey drops his fork and reaches over to cup Jack's cheek in his palm. "Jack, I've never met anybody better at these incredible romantic gestures," he says sincerely. "And I love them, I really do. This," he jerks his chin toward the backdrop and picnic, "is amazing and touching. But you know how I really know you love me?"

Curious and intrigued despite himself, the felisian shakes his head. Davey smiles, and goes on, "Because, on the days when I've got early morning classes, there's always a mug of coffee waiting for me when I get out of the shower, even though you _hate_ waking up earlier than you have to. And if I've been working a lot, you'll do the dishes even if it's my turn because you know I've had to help out with dishes at work. And you make spaghetti with mushrooms because you know I like them, even if you don't." 

Jack chuckles appreciatively at the comment, nuzzling into Davey's palm as he feels the blush creep forward into his cheeks. Davey smiles warmly and leans in to press his forehead to Jack's. "I miss our date nights too. But I've _never_ questioned that you love me, Jacky, I know that. You don't need to do big romantic things like this to show me." His grin turns playful, and he adds, "Although it's still really awesome when you do." 

Laughing, the felisian surges forward to kiss Davey, a purr rumbling up through his chest. "Ya wanna talk 'bout romantic gestures," Jack breathes against his lips when they part, "that li'l speech was like the end of a chick-flick." 

"Shut up," Davey teases, shoving at him lightly. Jack chuckles, even as he reaches up and wipes a stray tear off his cheek. "You're ruining the moment." 

The felisian giggles. "Sorry. But that's just so _us_ , huh?"

Davey echoes his laugh, and he kisses his boyfriend again. "Yeah, it kinda is, isn't it?" 

Jack grins that confident, mischievous smirk that hooked Davey from the very start, slanting higher on one side with a hint of his elongated canine teeth. "'Cause we're fuckin' awesome," the felisian declares resolutely. Surprised, Davey laughs so hard he falls over into Jack's side, dinner forgotten. 

Quivering with pleasure, Jack hooks his arm around Davey's back and hugs him closer. The felisian purrs as he cradles his boyfriend to his chest as he giggles like a little kid. Goal achieved. "Happy Valentine's, babe." 


End file.
